Clutchfans Game Thread: Rockets @ Thunder 8/24/2020 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 4)

Harden is a cancer in the playoffs

 

He was careful how he answered the question, he said the numbers they have say it should go 7.

We will see, the general feel I got was that this post season is unpredictable and that includes the Rockets.

 

CP3 has always been and will always have a higher basketball IQ than Harden

 

I wish they would take a step or two towards the basket or maybe a Harden post up? Tired of this ****

 

Oh i don't think the rockets can win with EG playing like this either. But that's the thing. I really can't remember a time where EG was actually benched for poor play. And his play has been bad for a very long time. unless someone can refresh my memory. not even sure EG can do anything wrong in MDA's eyes. Dude's shooting 20% in the bubble When i say bench I meant more to bring him off the bench. A change of that sort could light some kind of fire. I mean what they've been doing to this point is just being hopeful that something changes and he breaks out and it hasn't. How much longer

 

OKC is stopping any penetration the Rockets attempt and are daring them to shoot, sounds like a good gameplan to me. The Rockets shoot 34 percent from 3 as a team, that's average. Why not let them take 55 3s a game? I would. If this team shot 36-38 percent from 3, that wouldn't work. And the best shooter on the team, Ben, can't even get any playing time.

Without Russ, this team isn't even fun to watch tbh. Passively jack up 3s all game, iso with the clock running out, playing defense when they feel like it, it's just trash. At least with Russ you have him running the fast break, attacking the basket, and talking ish to the other team. You know, like real basketball almost.

 

At least it wasnt 27 straight lol.

But that's not what i'm saying at all. The lack of consistency throughout the game ends up biting the Rockets at the end more times than not. If the game is called consistently, we're talking about another Rockets blow out.

 

that's the name of the game. everyone has to deal with it. What can't happen specifically in the playoffs, is what we constantly see over and over. The actual things you do control. Hoping and praying a 3 will go down when they haven't and constant self inflicting mistakes to close out games will give you an L more often than not. Discipline and paying attention to details to win games is a skill.

 

Agree with you. Bad decisions.

 

We have to stop blaming the refs. Us Rockets fans have a horrible reputation for doing this.
Doncic had 5 FTA against a fairly porous Denver defense yesterday. They still won.

We shat the bed. Period

 

You know what, Imma just say one more thing and then I'm done checking Rockets stuff until next game.

James did choke it's true. But man...this dude is ALWAYS by himself man...ALL the time. Dwight could never back him up and was never a true second star. Cp3 was great but got injured at the most important time(not his fault though). The next year he's a shell of himself and highly underperforms against GS.

And now....Russ is injured and I don't know if he will be back for game 5-7. James Harden is always alone with no one to back him up. ALMOST ALL THE TIME.

 

The Rockets are losing in large part because of the huge free throw disparity. Normally the Rockets WIN the free throw battle... the last two games the Thunder have gone to the line 30 more times than the Rockets.

Some of that is the Rockets not being aggressive enough, some of it is by design on the part of the Thunder and part of it is questionable officiating.

At the end of the day, the Rockets cannot expect to win being crushed at the charity stripe.

Overall I enjoy watching small ball but when Harden is off the court it is unbearable and outside of Harden no one else can consistently create... everyone stands around confused.

 

Westbrook will improve our 3 point shooting at least. lol.

 

A cancer that creates wide-opens shots for all of his teammates at will...shots his teammates miss over and over again?

Is that what you're talking about?

 

Mmm Doncic played a double header yesterday i suppose

 

Covington was good today

 

interesting to note that whoever has won the bench battle has won the games

 

I think it on MDA. He hammered those decisions into the heads of players.

 

The team style of play is like last year, First Round Exit with Harden Iso Ball. Harden is not starting the fast break like the First 2 games. The last 2 games is all half court sets. Russell Westbrook is really needed to push the pace and be a leader on the court. Apparently James Harden doesnt feel like Leading. Nonchalant behaviour late in the 4th or overtime makes you lose.
Plus the referees always are setting up Harden to lose by being enemies.

 

have to think that one of the last 3 games will feature scott foster, most likely they're keeping him on ice until game 7 by design. the fakers and nugz series indicate that silver will do whatever possible to guarantee the bonanza revenue from an all-LA WCF, to at least in part recover some of this year's losses

my question for you is down the road, are non-conformist guys like harden/mda/morey ever going to come out and comment on the obvious? harden still has a few years left and would be risking the rest of his career + player retirement pension $ + HOF induction. mda seems too meek imo. but morey, he has shown in the past he truly does not give a F, and he could easily just restart his career in silicon valley..